The City Of Dreams
by Silvernutbar
Summary: Life follows a strange road as six pokegirls arrive in the forests around Corneria. A miscommunication leads to conflict and soon the legend of the light warriors takes on a whole new twist. Pokegirls/Final Fantasy I crossover.
1. The City Of Dreams

_Sometimes life throws you a few curves you don't know how to explain. Our story is one such series of curves that few could believe. The place we came from saw us as nothing but tools. We were property used for battles and the aggrandizement of our human masters. Here, we are so much more than that. Though, the humans of this world have forgotten what we did, the immortal races and those who are longer lived remember._

_Our story is heralded as legend. We saved everyone and everything from a terrible curse. In the process, we also saved ourselves. Life for us, is much harder here than it would have been back there. However, in the end we have each other and an entire world that is safe because of what we did. We are heroes and legends. We are family. We are the light warriors._

Xxxx

Chapter 1: The City Of Dreams

Xxxx

Kina stared down at the rapidly cooling corpses and shook her head. Her life was over. She had helped kill four humans.

The youma sighed to herself as she shook her head from side to side. The inhuman scales covering her naked body like tight fitting armor gleamed in the early morning light. She resembled a cross between a human and an armadillo in many ways. The knobby bone plates that covered her body were durable and protective but they tended to catch the eye.

"Hey you did what you had to Kina." said Alys thoughtfully as she gazed down at the carnage they had wrought. The humans had come out of nowhere and attacked. It still filled her mind with anger. They had seen Kina and immediately shouted, "Monster!" Kina was a very sweet pokegirl despite her appearance.

"There's nothing you can do Alys?" asked the youma as she turned to the Nursejoy with tear stained eyes. Her life was over either way. They had killed humans in cold blood. Even if they had survived they would still have been hurt badly. The best she could hope for is to be level fived.

"No. I'm mostly a desk jockey. My healing powers are weak." remarked the nursejoy.

"Well, I wouldn't cry about it too much." commented Mistuki as she dropped down out of a nearby tree. The kunoichi was surprised at how skillful the fighters had been. They had given Kina a serious thrashing before they could show up. They had even managed to do fairly serious damage to Christina and Dax too, for that matter. Still, everyone knew humans weren't really good at fighting pokegirls hand to hand. Honestly, what kind of idiot human attacked with a sword or knife?

"Easy for you to say! I killed humans; Humans! You got here just in time to not lay a hand on anyone!" exclaimed the youma heatedly. "My life is over!"

"Oh look around sister. We're in the middle of nowhere! Who the hell is going to know you did anything? They didn't even bring out any pokegirls. Probably not even tamers." replied the kunoichi as she took on a casual fighting stance.

"What? Are you seriously trying to say we should just leave them here and never speak of this? I killed people!" exclaimed the youma.

"People that attacked you for no reason. They didn't even try to catch you from what I saw as I was running in. They tried to kill you, flat out. Hell, if Christina hadn't jumped in when she did, the idiots would have done it." replied Dax as she walked over to the group. The flame haired slicer shook her scarlet mane and sighed.

"Well, I've always been a distance fighter. Magic is more my thing than fighting up front." remarked Kina softly.

"What's done is done I say. They attacked you with intent to kill. No one here is going to turn you in for that. No one else saw it happen." replied Dax.

"We should take what we can from them and dump the bodies." said Mitsuki after a few silent minutes passed.

"You want to rob them now?" asked Kina in a hateful tone.

"Can't rob the dead, girl. They don't need their stuff anymore. All we have is your master's half-charged pokepack. We're all naked as hell in the middle of the woods, the gods only know where."

"Sorry Kina. I'm with Mitsuki on this one. We need their supplies. Who knows if Thalia and Christina will find anything." stated the slicer.

Kina sighed at Dax then turned to Alys. "You agree with me don't you? This is wrong, right?"

"It was wrong that they attacked you in the first place." began the nursejoy. Kina's face fell a little upon hearing it. However, she was mollified slightly not long after as the pokegirl healer finished her statement. "I don't like it anymore than you do. It does feel wrong. Still, it needs to be done."

The youma frowned down at the robed figure on the ground. He had a young face. They all seemed to be little more than teenagers. She'd killed human kids. That would never sit right with her.

With a sigh she said, "Fine. Let's get it over with."

Dax nodded at her softly then knelt down at the swordsman's corpse. His weapon would do nicely for her as would his clothing. The other three pokegirls followed suit, picking up weapons and clothing from the ones who suited them best.

"Hey. What are these things? Some kind of evolution stone?" asked Mitsuki as she held up a palm sized crystal that glowed with a soft yellow inner light.

"Maybe? This guy had a red one." remarked Dax as she held up a similar crystal for the others to see.

"Found a blue one." remarked Alys before raising her own newfound crystal into the air.

They turned to gaze at Kina. The youma closed her eyes then held up a crystal which glowed with a gentle green light. "He had one as well."

The girls held the crystals up and watched them glow as a strange sensation overcame them. This sensation was one of warmth and purpose. Unknown to these girls from a strange land, they had taken up the duties of those who had been slain.

The moment passed not long after they finished stripping the bodies. Kina noted that the loose fitting robes came with a hood that easily hid her inhuman face and features readily. The boots were a little loose though.

"This guy was pretty buff." said Dax as her new clothes hung limply from her lithe frame. The neckhole of the simple shirt almost reached to her shoulder when she pulled it to one side or another.

"Hmm. Well, better than nothing." remarked Mitsuki as she squeezed her curvy yet rockhard booty into a set of cotton pants that were two sizes too small.

Alys belted her new white robe and tested the sandals she was now wearing. She prefered not to wear the poor dead man's undergarments. Those would remain. She also noted a similar thought had occured to the others as the slain humans were wearing nothing but their underwear when the girls were done looting the corpses.

When they finished taking the meager belongings of the fallen warriors Kina sighed down at them.

"What now?" asked Mitsuki with a frown. Didn't she get that these guys had tried to kill her? Why was she so upset by this?

"We can't just leave them like this. It's not right." remarked the youma.

Dax shook her head. "The ground is too hard to dig them a grave."

The youma sighed. They had hurt her pretty bad and it had exhausted Alys to fix her up alongside Dax and Christina. Even so, they had said things that made her wonder if they weren't really the 'bad guys' of the situation. Being called a monster did hurt a great deal. That wasn't the issue though. The other things they had shouted were the problem.

The way they protected each other and tried to rally and the desperate struggle to defeat what they saw as a threat weighed heavily on her. These nearly naked warriors lying cold on the ground had fought to the bitter end to defend each other. That wasn't something you would see in the insane or in common road bandits. It would haunt her for some time to come.

"What else do we have?" asked Mitsuki as she added her findings to the pile.

Alys looked the random assorted items over and shook her head. "A pile of coins that look like gold, a map, and their backpacks. These guys were traveling light."

"Anything in the packs?" asked Dax curiously.

"A little food and some camping supplies. There were more coins, but I added those to the pile." remarked the pink haired nursejoy.

"Gold coins?" asked Mitsuki curiously. Coins were good. Coins meant money. Money meant buying stuff. Mitsuki liked stuff.

"Yeah, looks like about four hundred or so."

"Holy shit! We're rich!" exclaimed the kunoichi excitedly.

"I doubt that." said Kina with a sigh.

"Why?" asked the ninja girl with a squint. Gold equaled money. Four hundred gold equaled four hundred money. That certainly sounded better than no money.

"If that was really a lot of money, why were they dressed like this?" asked the youma as she pulled at her simple black cotton robe.

"Hmm. Good point." remarked Dax. Mitsuki countered the argument, however. "These guys might have simply enjoyed traveling light though."

The girls continued to banter about the stuff they found for a few minutes before deciding to drag the bodies behind a tree and covering them with leaves and branches. It would not keep the feral pokegirls away, but at least the bodies would be hidden for a while. If they were lucky no one else would come along before then. They had to wait for Thalia and Christina to return before they could head out.

An hour passed before Dax decided to start cooking something for breakfast. They couldn't leave till the others got back and she was getting hungry.

Camping supplies were brought out and a few beans were put on to boil, with heavily salted meat strips added for flavoring. The warriors had traveled wth simple rations of dried food and jerky for the most part.

As breakfast cooked slowly over the fire, it soon became lunch as the cook realized that dry beans took a while to soften. She was used to cooking items out of instant meal packages.

"So, where do you think we are?" asked Mitsuki as she plopped her well toned booty onto a fallen log.

"We are in the woods." remarked Alys with a sigh.

Mitsuki snorted at her and shook her raven-black hair. "Oh ha ha. I did not know that."

Alys ignored the lightly muttered, "Bitch." that followed up the kunoichi's statement as she leaned back against the tree she was sitting under.

"We are definitely not where we should be. Those guys proved that." commented Dax as she stirred their legume based war booty.

"Oh? How did they prove that?" asked Kina softly. She had her own thoughts regarding the situation and was curious to see if the red head agreed.

"They were too strong and too lightly armed." explained the slicer after blowing on a spoon full of beans. She taste tested a single bean afterward and found that it was still too hard despite cooking for three hours. It was a mystery to her that the beans were still hard when the water was boiling rapidly.

"They didn't seem that strong. I mean, they were tough for humans but we dropped em pretty easy." remarked the kunoichi with a yawn.

"We?" asked Dax curiously.

"Ok, ok, so I wasn't able to get here in time. Sheesh. You sent me out to scout the area. Get over it!" replied the ninja girl.

"True. However, they were pretty strong. Freakishly so." said the flame haired slicer as she stared at the strange pot of still hard beans. Mentally she commanded them to soften. She demanded sustenance.

"She's right. The two wearing robes were that tough but they were hard to hit. The one with the sword nearly killed me a few times." remarked Kina as she remembered the sword blade cutting a deep gouge in her side. Only her bone plates had saved her.

"Don't rule out the guy fighting with his bare hands. He beat the hell out of Christina before Thalia stunned him with a manabolt."

Mitsuki quirked an eyebrow. Christina was a pretty solid fighter for a low level catgirl. She had missed the confrontation Dax mentioned but if the guy was that good, then maybe she could give the rotting warriors a little more credit than she already had.

"So, what" They were a group of guys with heavy bloodgifts but no intelligence? I mean what human fights without a pokegirl to help them?" asked the ninja babe after blowing a lock of hair out of her eyes. She missed her bow. When they'd awoken here they were all naked. The only thing that had made the trip was Kina's former master's empty pokepack and dex.

"Maybe they were. Still, it doesn't feel right." confided Dax as she continued staring legume related death at the pot of beans.

The quarter continued to argue and consider their current situation for another few hours. Finally in the early afternoon the beans were ready. Unsurprisingly Thalia and Christina managed to show up not long after. A few half hearted comments such as, "Knew you'd be back when you smelled food." were spoken but for the most part the girls were eager to hear the news.

Thalia, a witch pokegirl, decided to relate the tale.

"Well, we wandered all over the place. South of here there is a small port and according to the dock workers there is a large city up north about a half-day's walk."

"What's it called?" asked Alys curiously.

"Corneria." responded Christina as she flicked her ears slightly. She was constantly scanning the area for would be threats. They had seen quite a bit of action since the fight with the humans. Some of it had even been with strange creatures and some things that looked like really short humans who had bad hygiene.

"Never heard of it." remarked Dax thoughfully. She was the most experience fighter in the group. A level seven slicer, she had actually traveled in a tamer's battle harem for a brief time before she had been traded away for a few weeks rations and a bicycle.

"Yeah, I don't think you would have. I doubt any of us would have." replied Thalia with a shake of her head.

"Why?" asked Kina.

"I really don't think we're in the Crescent league." replied Christina before Thalia could make the same statement.

"Where the hell are we then? Come on, we can't be that far from the pokecenter." scoffed Mitsuki.

"Well, for starters.. no one at the dock has ever heard of a pokecenter or pokegirls." replied Thalia.

Alys blinked and asked, "You're kidding right?"

"No. They thought Christina was a monster, but when she ducked behind a bunch of barrels to avoid them and shouted about how she was not a monster, they stopped and looked confused. Apparently they had never heard of a monster that disputed actually being a monster.." said the witch pokegirl with a smirk.

"They seriously didn't know you were pokegirls? They didn't pull out a pokedex or something?" asked Dax.

"They didn't have any. There were no pokedexes, balls, or packs. I don't even think they had electricity at that dock." said Christina.

"Well, maybe they just don't have any kind of electrical system?" asked Kina.

"That's not all though. There are weird creatures in the woods. We also helped them fight off a bunch of strange fish-men things that came out of the water wielding tridents and spears." explained Thalia slowly. Her slow speech patterns had more to do with her hunger than with emphasizing her point. Those beans smelled good.

"What sharptits?" asked Mitsuki.

"No. These things were clearly male and kind of tough. Six of them took down eight workers before we could all finish them off. Those workers were no slouches either. It was a good thing they had a healer on hand though. They almost lost a few people." answered Christina as her tail lashed lightly.

"Notice you have clothes." said Dax after the girls discussed their battles some more. Apparently there were large wild animals in the ones and short green or grey skinned humans that smelled like an open sewer wandering the wilds as well.

"Yeah, the workers scrounged up a few bits and pieces for us for helping out." said the catgirl as she tugged on her plain wool shirt and pants set. The material was itchy, but better than being naked.

The girls chatted briefly then served up the beans. The pot emptied quickly, leaving only a remnant of its former legume goodness behind.

When lunch was over they discussed their plans. They really had no choice in the end.

"Corneria, the City of Dreams, Huh?" asked Kina aloud. Somehow, for a pokegirl like her, there was no reason to believe in dreams. She was not hideous but few tamers had looked kindly at her. Even the one who had taken her had only done so in the hopes of trading her off for something more attractive. Bony plates and blue skin were not a turn on for most humans.

"Let's see if we can get there before nightfall." said Dax. A half day's walk for a human at a solid march might be less for their group. There was no guarantee though. They did not know the land after all.

Xxxx

AN: So there we go. This entry into my pokegirl insertion challenge has begun. I will be making small chapters for this story. I am still working on another story primarily, and I want to at least attempt to keep this one going at a steady rate.

Read and Review!


	2. Adjustments

_When I first set sight on the human city I have to admit that I did not think well of our chances of making a go of things. It wasn't until I started noticing that in many ways this medieval society had many modern conveniences. Magic seemed to take the place of some things from back in our land of origin._

_Still, life was hard. The humans here were stronger than the ones back home, for one thing. The first time I saw one of the city guards leap ten feet into the air while wearing heavy plate armor I knew that things were definitely different here. Perhaps the constant threat of being devoured by monsters since the beginning of time forced them to be hardier than their equivalents back home? Then again, most of the humans in our world of origin sat around letting us do all the work._

_Magic was a part of everyday life for these people. Despite the absolutely archaic feel of the place, I could not help but find it beautiful. The air was alive at night with magical lanterns and the fountain in the town square drew me like a moth to a flame._

_The city of dreams, Corneria. It would always have a special place in my heart, even after the dream ended and a hard reality began for us._

~ From The Journal of Dax.

Xxxx

Chapter 2: Adjustments

Xxxx

Mitsuki rolled over in her comfortable bed and sighed. The idea that she had her own money was incredible. She could order anything she wanted, at least within her price range. Gold was apparently a lot more common in this area than it was where they came form. Thirty gold coins, known here as gil, were only enough to rent an economy room. Some of the fancier rooms in this inn cost in the multiple hundreds for a single night.

Still, she had never had her own money. A few of the others, the girls who had thresholded, had known what it was like to have their own funds. It was a new experience to her and she liked it.

"So, what now?" asked Kina softly as she gazed out of the window at the fountain in the town square. Corneria was considered to be the largest town in the world by its inhabitants. Admittedly it was a pretty good size, but it was not as big as some of the cities where they came from.

Dax stopped sharpening her new sword glanced at the girl. "We have to find a way to earn a living until we can go back home. If we can go back."

"If we want to go back." countered Mitsuki as she hugged her sack of coins to her ample chest.

"You really want to live in the stoneage for the rest of your life?" asked Dax. She missed some of the things from back home. Healing cycles were one such item. Having to actually take a bath was fun at the moment. Mending her own torn clothes after that fight with the wolves on their way to town was not something she relished doing often.

"Considering the alternatives? Since we've been here people have been nice to us. They don't treat us like they're better than us." replied Mitsuki after rolling over on the bed.

Dax could not argue with that logic. People did treat them somewhat respectfully here. Of course, if they had known they killed some people and left their corpses in the woods that might lead to a different sort of greeting.

A knock came at the door and Dax called out, "It's open."

The door opened amidst a few moments of grunting and annoyed sounding words. Alys and Christina walked in not long after, loaded down with equipment.

"So you found some equipment in our price range after all?" asked Mitsuki excitedly. A change of clothes would be nice. Especially, if the clothes fit.

"Yep. Sure did. The stuff they had for sale at the local armory was pretty cheap. Decent quality though." said Christina before dropping a pile of assorted armor on the closest bed.

Alys followed suit and put her rolled up bundles on the same bed.

"Remind me why we're buying stuff like that when we don't even have enough money to live on for more than a week?" asked Kina curiously.

"We have to work to eat. The only work we can get is monster hunting or package delivery work. We don't know where any of these towns are in the area, so it's monster hunting or we starve." replied Dax.

"I know." said the youma softly before turning back to the window. She pulled her hood tighter around her face when she noticed a few children near the fountain looking up at her with smiles on their faces. 'If they only knew what I really looked like' thought the infernal pokegirl.

"Where's that twit Thalia?" asked Mitsuki after picking up two daggers that seemed reasonably decent. She preferred short swords, and throwing weapons, but these would do for now.

"She's at the bar asking about work. There were a few promising flyers posted." responded Alys before she stripped out of her soiled robe. She stood naked for a moment as she bit her lip in an attempt to remember which of the bundles held the stuff she had bought for herself.

After a minute she found a nice white cotton robe with red trim along the hem. She doubted it would be very protective, but at least it looked warm.

"They only had close fighting weapons and we ran out of money before we could get something for everyone." remarked Christina as she picked up a pair of nunchuks. She used to train with them back home before she entered threshold. While her bare hands were reasonably well trained she felt more comfortable with a weapon at the moment.

Dax came over and noticed the only sword on the bed was a rapier. She already had the broadsword she had looted off of that warrior. It seemed like a poor trade in her opinion. When she mentioned as such the girls shrugged and Alys said, "Guess Thalia can use it."

The slicer did notice a few sets of armor though and quickly snatched up a set of mail armor that was surprisingly light despite its solid construction. "You seriously got all of this stuff for what you took with you?"

"Uh.. well no. We had to promise the armory owner that we'd help him out with his business." replied Christina with a chuckle.

"Help out how?" asked Dax carefully.

"Well, it seems the idea of attractive female adventurers using his equipment in battle is a new market for him. We had to promise that we would go model some of his wares at his shop every day."

"What? How are we supposed to make money to eat if we're parading around for some pervert?" asked Mitsuki with a frown.

"Well not all of us. We agreed that two of us would go every day for a month or until the debt is paid. The other four could run around monster hunting, or giving sponge baths to the elderly. Ya know, work." replied Christina.

"Fine, but who goes and who stays?" asked Kina.

"Well, we could take turns and swap out in a rotation." offered Alys.

"Sounds good. We get plenty of gear and provisions and all we have to do is be some guy's eye candy." decided Mitsuki after considering their options.

Christina was about to respond when the door opened and Thalia entered. The girls turned to her expectantly and she smiled before flashing them a V for victory. "We have work ladies."

"Really?"

She nodded at Dax in response and the slicer grinned.

"So, which job did you decide on?" asked Kina without turning away from the window.

"There have been a lot of goblins sighted in the woods near town of late. Apparently all kinds of monsters are coming out of the woodwork and no one knows why." began the witch pokegirl.

"Yeah? So?" asked Mitsuki.

Thalia frowned at her and explained, "So, there is a great deal of work for mercenaries and adventurers in town. The contract I signed for us states that we have to bring back ten ears for each of us."

"Wait. What? We have to go kill sixty of those little green bastards?" griped Mitsuki in a questioning tone.

"No." replied Thalia.

"No? But you just said.."

"We can hunt the grey ones too." explained the witch with a smirk.

Mitsuki muttered something uncomplimentary about the magical pokegirls parentage but didn't say anything further.

"Well, they aren't that tough really. The only problem is that they come in groups."

"The grey ones can be a bit tougher to beat. Though they aren't much."

"Heh. Seems like even in this world the humans need us to go out and make their precious towns safe to live in." muttered Mitsuki.

"Weren't you just excited about making money?" asked Alys Curiously.

"Mmm.. money, money money!" exclaimed the kunoichi as she involuntarily hugged her fiscal assets against her physical ones.

"Geeze. Bi-polar much?" asked Christina with a little kitty snort.

"You do know I have a knife right?" remarked the kunoichi casually.

"Well something about you needs to be sharp I guess." countered the catgirl with a smirk.

The kunoichi glared hatefully at the girl for a moment then snorted and turned away. It was her way of dropping the subject.

"How much does the job pay?" asked Alys.

"Three gil per ear, and an extra hundred if the job gets done in a week."

"A week? How many goblins do they think are out there?" asked Dax in shock.

"No one knows. I heard one of the patrons in the pub saying that the town is in lockdown known because the guards think every goblin in the country has come out of their caves to attack travelers."

"Sounds like a lot." suggested Kina softly.

"Yeah, there have to be hundreds, maybe even a few thousand of them roaming around in the woods." explained Thalia.

"Sheesh. That's an army. Good thing they're weak." said Mitsuki with her eyes widening.

"Yeah, but there are other things out there. The wolves and forest animals have become very aggressive too. There is even talk of real monsters pouring out of some old ruined temple about two week's walk from hear to the northwest. They attacked and destroyed an outpost near there and the folks in the neighboring town fled to Cedar Hills about two days travel from here.."

"Guess that makes sense." replied Dax as she snapped on her sword belt and sheathed her blade. "You've seen how skilled the guards in this town are. They wouldn't need to hire bounty hunters and mercenaries if there were only a handful of enemies to face."

"True." agreed Christina as she rifled through their new provisional stores. She wanted some fruit while they had it.

Thalia smiled at the Christina as the catgirl followed her agreement with, "It'll be a good chance for training too. We definitely need to step our game up if the humans in this world pose a serious threat with sticks and knives."

"No kidding." muttered Dax as she moved her hand down to trace her armor along the area where one of those fighters had gouged out a chunk of her rib. Alys had literally been a lifesaver.

"Alright. I think we should stick close to town though. The last thing we want to do is get lost in the woods or something."

"Yeah. Sounds like a plan." agreed Alys as she put on her furlined boots.

"We should start work tomorrow. Use tonight to get prepared." suggested Dax.

Christina nodded at her. "Yeah, but who's going and who's going to the shop?"

"I'll go out with the hunting squad. They are more likely to need me than whoever stands around looking pretty for Erdin's customers."

"I'll go too." said the catgirl. She really did not want to stand around looking pretty for his customers.

"I'll go stand at the shop." offered Kina in a soft tone.

"Uh..Kina.." began Mitsuki.

"Fine. I'll go hunting." said the youma with a sigh. Like she really had a choice right?

"I guess I could stay behind and smile pretty for the guys or something." muttered Thalia. She wasn't too enthusiastic about it but at least she would have a set work schedule of dawn to dusk.

"I want to go hunting." said Mitsuki with a quirked eyebrow.

"Fine by me. I'll go stand around at the shop till the hunting group gets back." agreed Dax. "I am going next time though and so is Thalia."

"I am?" asked the witch with a frown. She didn't like people volunteering her for things.

"We all need the training. Kina has to go, and Alys should go. That leaves us to swap out with Mitsuki and Christina until we can pay off our debt." replied the slicer logically.

"I know that. I just didn't like how you decided you were my alpha all of a sudden." remarked the witch with an edge to her voice.

"Well, I won't apologize for that. At some point we are going to need to consider that responsibility. I don't particularly want the job but we are going to need a leader."

"We're going to need some dick too." agreed Mitsuki with a smirk.

Christina swatted her clawed fingers at the speedy ninja girl, but missed the shadow warrior.

The ninja babe shrugged her shoulders from the other side of the bed and said, "It's true. I just hope the local humans are able to handle my needs. You girls are cute and all but mama needs the real thing."

"Heh. Easy for you to say. You aren't a monster." said Kina as she moved away from the window.

"Yeah. I know what you mean. I get tired of having to wear gloves and a bandana everywhere I go. Curling my tail around my leg gets annoying too since it makes me walk like I'm limping."

"Even if it was crudely put, Mitsuki does make a valid point. Though, I'm a bit arbitrary about the dick part. I'll settle for human and respectful." commented Alys with a chuckle.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it I guess. We can keep ourselves tame indefinitely, but there's nothing wrong with taking the edge off now and then." suggested Dax after running her fingers through her mass of flaming red hair.

The girls had a good laugh about that. To be honest taking the edge off sounded like a really good idea.

Xxxx

AN: Another short chapter for you. :)

For those interested, here are the level stats for the girls.

Dax, Slicer Level 7 (Fighter)

Christina, Catgirl level 5 (Monk/Black belt)

Mitsuki, Kunoichi Level 4 (Thief)

Kina, Youma Level 3 (Black Mage)

Alys, Nursejoy Level 3 (White Mage)

Thalia, Witch Level 2 (Red Mage)

I'm going to do a write up of their actually stats and such in the next chapter. :)

I consider this a pokegirl/final fantasy one fusion but there are elements of other final fantasy games which will appear. There will be no character crossovers, however. I consider the other elements as simply updating the original game with modern final fantasy concepts. Character professions skills and other things that make modern final fantasy well know. However, as the ladies are pokegirls they have that going for them as well. :)


	3. The Assault

_I liked the quiet places the most in those early days. The deep forest or dark caves were more like home to me than any town or city. Humans scared me. They reminded me of what I used to be before I entered threshold. I did not like hurting them, but even here they liked hurting me. I was a monster. Even though I fought for them, at first I was a monster._

_In some ways, I could never be anything else. Inside, I would always know I was no longer human._

Xxxx

Chapter 3: The Assault

Xxxx

Dax span quickly around to slash at the hapless goblin that had run up behind her. These things were quick, but she was quicker. Dirty leather armor of poor design quality ripped along badly woven seams. Blood sprayed hotly from the creature's wound as it shrieked in pain. The slicer moved forward pressing her attack with a quick overhand strike that arced her blade around in a whipping motion. The broad blade of her weapon crashed down against the creature's skull. A meaty thwack as its head split like an overripe melon.

Nearby another goblin screamed in agony as Kina gestured toward it igniting its clothing with her magic. Flames erupted around the creature as its clothing burned. Her low ebb elemental manipulation magic was not that great yet. Basic fire element attacks were more than enough to slay these weak creatures, but she longed to understand and utilize the spell scroll she had purchased just the day before.

Christina lept up and grabbed a low hanging tree branch to allow a spear wielding goblin to rush past. The moment it tried to stop and turn back to attack the speedy catgirl it found itself being knocked to the ground hard by the pokegirl's bodyweight. She had lept from the tree in a magnificent pounce that tackled the goblin to the ground driving the air from its diminutive lungs.

She swiped the back of its head twice with her sharp feline claws before rolling off of it. The disoriented and badly injured forest monster struggled to get to its feet. Those struggles ended not long after they began, however. A small dagger flew through the air to embed itself deep within the creature's back.

Mitsuki dropped from the trees and hacked the back of its neck with a hard swift blow of her remaining dagger before freeing the first one from the creature's body. Christina nodded at her and turned to face the other girls. The battle was over already.

A short while later Dax opened their bounty sack and counted out the ears that the group had collected so far. Three days in the woods had netted them another eighty ears. The job was already done.

"These things had a few gil on em just like the other times." remarked Christina as she tossed the handful of coins she had found into the pile.

The other girls did the same and Dax nodded. "We've made almost as much from simply collecting loot off of these things as we will be for the job."

"Yeah, no kidding. We should head back to town and collect our pay. I'm sure Thalia and Alys would like to switch out." remarked Kina with a little more perkiness in her tone than usual. Out in the woods she didn't have to wear her hood.

"Yep. Alys needs to come back out anyway. She stayed behind to take a break since she'd been out on every hunt this week, but out of all of us we need her to be at her best." commented Christina.

"These things really aren't that much of a challenge anymore." replied Mitsuki. The goblins were a fairly tough fight in groups the first day or two, but after fighting nearly a hundred of them, they had pretty much learned everything they could from them.

"Agreed." said Dax thoughtfully. She turned her attention back to the pile of ears. What were they going to do with the extra twenty?

Xxxx

"Come on babe! Skip work and come party with me. My parents are sailing out to Provoka right now and I got the house all to myself." suggested a short man with a pornstaresque mustache. The hairy lipped individual was in his thirties, balding, fat, and smelled of elderberries and shame. Although to be honest Thalia might have merely imagined the last part.

The witch smiled politely at him while fighting down the urge to unleash a manabolt upon the lecherous idiot. "Sorry, Kelin. I have to work."

Alys smirked at the scantily clad pokegirl as she polished the set of plate armor on the counter. The armorer had a contract with the castle guard that expressly forbade sale of any heavy armor to anyone but the military. Due to monster attacks and the recent civil unrest the crown might have to buy the shop out at any moment. General Howell had already ordered another fifty suits of plate and eighty suits of maile just in the time the girls had been on the job.

It seemed like every man of fighting age in the kingdom was being outfitted for some reason. Even a few female adventurers had come through seeking an arms resupply.

Her amusement was short lived however. A blaring siren wailed throughout the town catching the attention of everyone currently shopping.

"What's that noise about?" asked Thalia curiously.

Erdin widened his eyes in alarm and ran to the door. "We have to secure the store and get to the basement! It's an attack!"

"An attack?" asked Alys in surprise as she rushed to help her current employer brace the doorway with thick iron beams. Windows were shuttered rapidly with iron plates, but not quickly enough. An arrow raced through the glass pane, shattering it violently as it sped straight into Kelin's chest. The arrow connected with enough force that the man was hurled backward to fall unceremoniously over a low table.

A skeletal hand reached through the window as Thalia slammed the shutter down. Ancient bones snapped brutally as the heavy metal panel was shoved into place and bolted down. The unearthly screech from outside penetrated the walls. It did not sound so much like one of pain as it was of outrage and denial.

"What the hell was that?" asked Thalia in surprise as she looked down at the splintered arm. The fingers moved on the detached limb, three of the fingers and the thumb moved together in a fist. One finger remained upright and resolute, however. It was a gesture who's meaning was not lost of the small crowd in the armory.

"A skeleton soldier. The fiends from the north must have over run the other towns." remarked one of the city guards who was now trapped inside with the group. He would probably get an earful from his superiors about this, but really what else could he do? If he demanded to be let out he would be endangering everyone in the building.

"Kalic, are you sure? I know skeletal soldiers rarely appear outside of that cursed shrine in these parts, but it's a hard pill to swallow." asked Erdin to the guardsman.

Kalic nodded his head. "Yeah. Unfortunately, I think it must be true. I was with a scouting patrol that went out to Cedar Hills and the fallen outpost beyond. There were all manner of monstrosities in the woods."

"Such as?" asked a young seeming girl in a purple robe. She carried herself somewhat confidently despite her youth.

Kalic turned to the girl and said, "Well, there were not that many undead in the area at the time. I did see quite a few deranged animals, carrion crawlers, and the like though."

"Deranged animals?" askd Erdin.

"Yeah, giant spiders and the wild horses have gone mad as well. We all knew the wolves had become crazed but it seems even non-predators are becoming aggressive." replied the man as he turned to the door. The sound of weapons pounding on the entry way drew a few fearful looks besides his own.

Erdin shook his head. "Nothing short of an ogre is getting through that door. It's got a steel core and the metal frame is worked into the wall mortar. We couldn't be safer outside of the castle than right here."

"Yeah, but didn't you say we needed to get to the basement?" asked Alys curiously as she continued using her low level healing power to work on Kelin's wound. The arrow had sunk deep within his chest, puncturing a lung and piercing his heart. She had a good chance of saving him, but it would exhaust her magic completely in the process.

"We're supposed to, but I doubt it'll be necessary. The guards can handle a few skeletons and goblins." remarked the shop owner with a shrug.

"The castle healers should make short work of the undead anyway." agreed Kalic.

"How can healers fight undead?" asked Alys in surprise. What did healing magic have to do with zombabes or whatever those things were?

"Where are you from girl? Everyone knows white magic powers heal the living and damage the undead. There are even spells designed for white magic users to slay undead." asked Kalic in his own brand of surprise.

"Really?" asked Thalia. That sounded quite promising.

"Yes. Magic isn't really my thing though. I'm a lancer. You want to know more about magic ask a mage."

"What's a dragoon?"

"Uh.. you're kidding right? The world famous dragon knights of Corneria?" asked the man in shock. Who had not heard of the dragoons? Their fighting techniques were legendary. Some even claimed that the style had been a gift from the king of the dragons to a human hero that had proved himself worthy.

"We are not from around here." remarked the witch with a wince.

"You must be from very far away if your healers do no have healing magics which harm the undead and you do not know of Corneria's lancers." remarked the girl in the purple robe. She turned to the spear wielding guard and quirked an eyebrow, "Though I don't remember any dragon knights in recent history."

Kalic's face gained a mild pink shade. "Well, no one has been able to rediscover the lost secrets yet. That's all."

"Lost secrets?" asked Thalia.

Kalic nodded at her, relieved to have a reason to escape the purple robed girl's gaze. "Yes. It is said that the first dragoon, the dragon knight, could leap high into the air as though he flew. Then he would descend upon an army of monsters and scatter them like a thunderbolt from the heavens."

"Hmm. Sounds pretty tough then."

"Yeah, except no one has seen a 'true dragon knight' in like a thousand years." remarked the robed girl with a snort.

"Shera, what's got you busting my balls today anyway?" asked the guard in annoyance.

"Nothing brother dear. I just wish you would stop day dreaming about dragon knights and train. You could be a castle guard if you really wanted to!"

"If I was a castle guard, then I would never be able to leave the kingdom." explained the man. His tone seemed to speak of many repetitions of these sentiments in the past.

Shera frowned at him. "I told you I don't need your help! All callers go on their journey alone."

"You don't just want to be a caller though! You want to be a true summoner!" snapped the young man heatedly.

"That's my business." countered the girl. "You gave up the family arts to pursue jumping around with a pointy stick!"

"Would you two knock it off?" called out Erdin in a strong controlled voice.

The two siblings blinked and turned to look at him. He noticed their attention was focused upon him now so he continued by saying, "The city is under attack by an unknown number of monsters. I would prefer they forget we are in here since we can't do anything to help outside right now."

Erdin's calm assessment of the situation calmed the two squabbling siblings down a bit. They had been making enough noise to wake the dead. Considering the dead were currently roaming the city in search of the living it might be prudent to shut up and yell later.

Meanwhile, as the girls hunkered down in the relative safety of the shop a very different scene was occurring outside.

"They keep coming!" shouted an archer before unleashing another arrow. His shot took a goblin in the eye but did little to stem the hundreds of rushing monsters as they threw torches on any building that looked like it might burn. Thankfully most of the buildings in town were made of stone and had been forced to adhere to proper housing codes. Reinforced doors, shuttered windows, and thick stone walls were the most common sight in town.

A few homes and businesses did burn, but ultimately most of the town was safe from such tactics. However, hunkering down in their homes meant that most of the people were also cut off. Nearly a third of the city guard was locked inside of buildings for fear of letting monsters into private civilian residences and businesses.

"Archers to the rear. Lancers to the fore. Drive them back!" ordered the guard captain from the parapet. There had to be over a thousand monsters in this assault. It would be grim work turning them back, but he was confident they could do it. Corneria castle had never fallen to monster assaults in the past and it would not fall now.

The units took up their positions as the heavily armored lancers bore down on their targets with leaping thrusts. Despite the weight of their body armor they easily lept twice their own height into the air to come crashing down atop hapless monsters. As some of them lept in to attack the others thrust or parried the advancing horde on the ground. They would take turns thrusting on the ground and leaping from behind the forward position to continually push the line of advance against the monstrous tide. One lancer was easily the match of a dozen of these petty creatures.

Unfortunately, for them there was one creature among their number who knew their tactics all too well. A deep baritone laugh was heard over the tumultuos roar of battle as giant spiders began to leap atop the milling horde. The creatures jumped and ran on their tiny yet powerful legs in an all out push to assault the leaping lancers.

The next wave that jumped barely had time to try and switch the angle of their spears as arachnids the size of an average pony hurtled through the air with blazing speed to tackle the armored men in mid leap.

This assault broke the concentration of the spear wielding warriors just enough to break their line. In that brief moment unnatural creatures began to appear behind them, fading into existence as though they had been but shadows.

"Look out men! There are Geists behind you!" shouted the guard captain. He was too late, however. The undead spirits reached their cold spectral hands into the bodies of their nearest foes and paralyzed them by squeezing their hearts in their icy grip.

Goblins and skeletal soldiers, normally unable to really harm a castle guard in a fight, found these helpless soul were easy targets. The slaughter began in earnest as the evil creatures cackled in glee. Blood flew in crimson fountains from the fallen members of the forward line. When the initial damage was done the unholy dead began to pick up the lancers which were still living and used them as meat shields to ward off any approaching arrows. If the captain ordered his archers to fire he would he finishing off his own men.

The captain looked down with hatred etched upon his features. He could not believe he would have to give this order, but there was no choice.

"Archers! Pick your targets.. and fire."

The archers atop the castle ramparts moved into the open to fire at the enemies rushing about below. Most of them managed to take out a few goblins or got a lucky shot against a skeleton. Unfortunately, the monsterous hord had a few archers of its own. Skeletal hands pulled back ancient creaking longbows and took the lives of over a dozen defenders in the first volley.

The captain hunkered down at his own position as an arrow nearly reached him atop the high parapets. "Knights! Prepare for breach!"

The strong steel gate of castle Corneria drew the mixed heritage horde like shit drew flies. However, The real battle took place within the walls of the castle as a supposedly secret doorway opened within the confines of the royal library.

Out of this door way strode a man in jet-black armor. He wielded an evil blade which glowed with dark crackling energy. He was not alone. With him had come with two score of his strongest warriors. Grey imps, skeletal soldiers, a carrion crawler, poisonous spiders, and even a few specters. While the army was busy with his cannon fodder, he would take what he came for.

It did not take long for the guards to notice that someone was within the castle walls. His entourage assaulted the knights in the halls in a bid to attack the gatehouse. He doubted they would succeed, but if they did he would own the castle by might of arms. If not, then he still had his plans.

As he strode calmly through the corridors of the castle he found himself suddenly surrounded by a dozen of the well trained knights of Corneria.

"Halt! By order of his highness, King Jaycen Ep Corneria you are under arrest!" announced a guard leader.

"Lay down your weapon!" snarled the guard as the black armored warrior began to shake violently.

When a loud baritone laugh roared out of him, the guard's anger turned to surprise then slow rage. "How dare you!"

The leader of this guard unit order his men forward with a cry of "Take him!"

The armored warrior shook his head and casually arced his blade in a lazy horizontal slash. Despite the simplicity of the attack there was enough force behind the strike to cleave the two closest guards in half.

Shock gave way to rising panic as the guards tried valiantly to assault the armored stranger. A look of unadulterated hatred crossed the face of the guard leader as three more of his men were cut down. The remaining guards backed off and took up defensive stances.

"You will not pass here!" snarled the guard leader. How dare this creature slay his loyal men!

The laughter stopped as the armored man's horned helmet tilted to the side casually. He spoke in a deep resonant voice laced with an almost sweet sounding tone. "Such beautiful hatred."

The guards were unnerved by the strange man's words, but they would soon discover there were much worse things than simple words when the man spoke again. "Let me show you mine."

The crackling energy of the blade ignited into a black flare of power as the armored warrior slashed the air before him. For a brief instant everything seemed to go still. Then, as though the world had gone insane, a riot of sound and fury erupted outward from him in an arcing wave of black and purple energy.

The guards were hurled back violently by this evil power to slam brutally into the wall behind them. One poor soul found himself being propelled through a nearby window, the window glass shattering as he fell four stories to land atop the iron spikes upon the parapets below.

"Hmm.. why the sad faces?" asked the armored warrior as he strode forward. "Didn't you like my gift?"

His deep baritone laughter erupted out of him again as he casually swatted down any of the insignificant guards that had managed to survive his assault. They were but insects before his power. Even the monster army outside was nothing more than a useful distraction for him. He was supremely confident that even if he had come alone he would have succeeded in is goals.

Several more guards attempted to get in his way as he climbed the castle stairs. He had a goal he had to reach and these pathetic creatures were nothing before his dark power.

Doors to the throne room burst open and he found himself set-upon by a score of the castle's elite guard. The man simply shook his head in disdain as he swatted them away like noisome flies.

The king stared hatefully at the armored man before him. There was no doubt in his mind that this had to be the leader of the assault force attacking his town. The fact that the creature standing before him had utterly destroyed twenty of his best defenders in less than a single minute was all that kept him from drawing his sword personally.

"Who are you, that you come here and do these terrible deeds?" asked the king in a strained voice. He was trying to be a confident and calm as he could be in this situation. Unfortunately, it was rather difficult as far as these sort of negotiations went.

"Now now, old man do you really not remember me?" asked the dark knight casually.

A guard who had survived his initially encounter with the armored man rose to his feet and staggered toward him, sword in hand. The dark knight waited until the guard swung his blade at him in a clumsy arc, then casually batted the blade away, with an open palm. This caused the castle knight to be spun forward off-balance. His opponent slapped him casually across the face with a backhanded blow that sent him flying sideways to crash against the floor.

"Now then.. you were saying something about not remembering me?" asked the dark knight with an intrigued tone.

"Should I?" asked the king with a hesitant tone. The armor and sword were not something he recognized. However, the voice did seem somewhat familiar.

"Such a pity. Perhaps this will help?" asked the black armored warrior before casually lifting off his horned helmet to reveal himself to the man before him.

"Garland..?" asked the king incredulously as his strength left him. He fell back onto his throne with pain growing within his chest, and numbness spreading along his left side. The sight of the unnaturally pale man before him was too much for him to bare.

Garland laughed cruelly at the man before assuming the parody of a concerned look. "Why dear father.. whatever has become of you? You don't seem well?"

The old king began to hyperventilate a little as his son, the former crown prince, strode toward him. "Now now, old man. You can't die yet. You haven't given me my crown."

"Your crown.." asked the king in a weak whisper. "Your crown.. you've been dead for years.."

Garland laughed in a dark sadistic manner. "Oh no, not dead father. Reborn. I have gained a power greater than any you could ever fathom. Now then, give me my crown. I am the prince am I not?"

The king found enough strength to ask, "Why not just return to me, to your family? You could have had the kingdom.. it was your birth right.."

The dark knight gazed down at the man impassively for a moment. Then, as though an evil rainbow had spread across a dark and turbulent sky, a sadistic smile crossed his lips. "Why father? Simple. This is so much more fun."

"No.." whispered the king. Whether he meant no to his son's right to the throne or no to what he had just heard was anyone's guess. However, Garland did not like that word at all.

"No?" he asked casually, tasting it as though it were some strange new flavor he knew nothing of before. He said it once again, tasting it on his lips and tongue. "Hmm, doesn't sound like yes. Now does it?"

In the corner a trembling teenage girl finally found the courage to speak aloud. "Garland! How, how could you do that to our father? All the guards? We love you!"

"Ah. Sarah my dear. I was wondering when you would stop cowering. It's not nice to ignore your new king after all."

"You're not the king!" exclaimed the girl haughtily.

Garland quirked one snow white eyebrow at her then slowly smiled in a predatory manner. "Am I not? Well, then let us rectify that at once my dear, sweet, sister."

"Old man. I'll give you one last chance to turn the kingdom over to me. I deserve it after all." stated the dark knight.

"No.." whispered the king as his vision began to blur in and out.

"Oh, I will be king old man. One way or another. I'll give you one week. Either you give me my crown or I'll take it." replied the crown prince with a smirk.

"The people will never follow you, you monster!" cried out Sarah with wide eyes and tears staining her lovely cheeks.

"Oh, I think they will. Forgive me if I'm incorrect but there are two ways to be king right? The first way is for the king to crown his successor."

Sarah tilted her head sideways and stared at him in confusion.

"By that doe eyed look on your face, you obviously don't remember the second. Well, sister dear. The second way is to marry the princess and live happily ever after."

"Marry the.. Garland, I'm your sister!" she cried out in shock.

"Meh, What's a little incest now and then. You're pretty enough, and to be honest I'm going to kill you after I fuck your slutty little brains out anyway."

"Wha..? How could you even say such a terrible thing!"

"Oh please? You're a whore Sarah. Bahamut's scaly balls you silly slut. You have probably sucked every dick in town twice by now. Bet this poor dead sap here has reamed that lovely ass of yours on many a lonely night." replied the dark knight while casually tapping an unconscious guard with his armored boot.

"How dare you! I will not permit this outrage!" railed the princess in anger. Whether it was because of the horrible lies he had just spoken, or because it was true, no one would could say.

What Garland had to say on the matter was a different story, however. "You will not permit me? Hmm. Sarah, you need a little house training. Bitches don't snap at their masters when it is time for dinner and you will not talk back to your husband-to-be."

"You're mad!"

"No, I'm having fun actually." responded the dark knight before belting out a loud obnoxious laugh that grated on her very soul. Not long after he made his move, the smiling visage upon his face replaced by a deathlike mask lacking any emotion.

The girl tried to get away as he moved toward her, but he was too fast and too powerful. The knight stepped into the shadows and allowed them to surround him, embracing him in their beautiful lightless depths.

As the man and his sister-bride faded away all the king could do is shed a single set of tears and whisper, "No..."

Xxxx

AN: Whelp, this chapter went longer than I thought. Due to this factor, I have decided not to show levels and stats until next chapter. :)


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